


Fear the Old Blood

by RedFox13



Category: Bloodborne
Genre: Other, Scary, Short Story, Violence, may the good blood guide your way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 07:11:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19246336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedFox13/pseuds/RedFox13
Summary: Henryk has a nightmare.





	Fear the Old Blood

It was a cold winters night in Yharnam, a sudden blizzard had caught Gascoigne and Henryk off guard causing them to seek shelter. The wind tugged at their clothes and the cold cut right through them as they hurriedly made their way through the Cathedral Ward.

Seeing that most of the buildings were locked tight, they decided the best place to ride out the storm was the Grand Cathedral. Henryk shivered as they made their way up the stone steps. Gascoigne stayed behind him to help keep the wind off of him. They were in luck tonight, the cathedral guards were nowhere to be found, even the giants were laying low. As they reached the top Henryk moved closely to one of the massive braziers that lit the entryway. He gave a contented sigh as the flames warmed his bones.

Gascoigne shoved hard on the massive doors, they opened slowly with a loud creaking groan. The inside of the cathedral was empty, the only sound was of their footsteps echoing off the stone. Henryk secretly dreaded this place, he had only come here once when he was a young man, and he's never set foot here since. Not since.... He quickly dismissed the memory as they passed the lines of amygdala statues with their massive spears raised in an eternal salute.

Henryk shuddered at the sight of the place. There were still the smashed floor tiles, the torn, scorched curtains, and the faint smell of decayed blood. Dust and half melted candles covered the floor. His eyes widened in horror as he approached the altar. Sitting there with a grin of agony and a large gaping head wound, was Laurence's skull.

Henryk decided he would go no further, he turned around and nearly ran into Gascoigne. "Ya' alright?" He asked with concern as Henryk steadied himself and went towards the stairs. "I'm fine, just going to sit down." He replied, taking a seat in the corner and leaning against the wall. Gascoigne joined him and set down his weapons. "We're going to be here a while." He commented as the sound of the wind howling outside became louder. Henryk sighed and closed his eyes, "I hope it's not too long." He muttered.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, or even if he was still dreaming. Henryk woke to find himself in the Grand Cathedral, it was at a midnight service and the moon shown bright and opalescent through the stained glass windows. There were many townsfolk gathered, the Choir was assembled high above singing the praises of the Old Blood. Many old hunters and a few Powder Kegs were mixed into the crowd. And at the front of the altar was Vicar Laurence, his voice frail but still loudly blessing their communion.

Henryk felt his heart racing as he saw Laurence reach for the holy chalice on the altar. "No!! Don't do it!!! You damn fool!!" Henryk yelled, but his words fell on deaf ears. Laurence drank from the chalice, and before he could continue his prayer he grasped at his throat as if he was choking. Henryk was frozen in place, he knew what was coming.

As Laurence fell to his knees some concerned townsfolk approached him. The Choir up above had stopped singing and were watching the scene with curiosity. An agonizing scream from Laurence turned into an inhuman shriek, Henryk watched in shock as Laurence turned into a cleric beast. He towered over the congregation, and with one massive stroke he struck down most of the townsfolk gathered, blood and gore splattering everywhere.

The few hunters there had enough sense to avoid him. They readied their weapons as people scattered. The beast let out a ear splitting roar as the hunters attacked. Molotovs and oil urns were tossed, saifs and beast cutters set aflame by fire paper, boom hammers blazed to life. The anguished roars of a beast and battle cries of the hunters thundered loudly in the cathedral as they clashed.

Several hunters were slashed to pieces by the beast's massive claws. A Powder Keg with a cannon blew its legs off. Another hunter with a Kirkhammer brought his weapon down hard on the beasts head, killing it. The Cathedral was in disarray, the curtains smoldered with embers, the floor and walls were soaked with blood. The few survivors only stood quietly, too in shock to speak. 

Henryk remained frozen near the stairs watching the terror unfold. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. He watched as a massive pool of blood swallowed up Laurence's body. The cathedral went dark and as the candles flickered back to life the scenery had changed.

The place was empty except for Laurence's blazing corpse draped in a blasphemous manner on the altar. Finally able to move Henryk slowly approached the altar, it grew hotter the closer he got, and little embers shot up from cracks in the floor. To Henryk's dismay the corpse started moving. It slowly sat up and climbed off the altar, it fell to its knees holding one hand over its eyes and the other reaching out to Henryk. An aged voice echoed through the room, "Fear the Old Blood. By the Gods! Fear it Laurence!!" The beast let out an unholy scream that was only matched by Henryk's screaming as the scene went dark.

Henryk awoke with a yell and his pistol drawn. Gascoigne jumped and rolled away from him, not wanting to get shot. "What the hell?!!" He exclaimed. He saw the look of terror in his friends eyes as he slowly lowered his pistol. Approaching him carefully and kneeling at his side the priest asked, "Are ya' alright Henryk." Without a word Henryk wrapped his arms around his friend and buried his face into his shoulder. Gascoigne could feel him shaking and his heart racing frantically as he returned the embrace, gently patting Henryk on the back.

When he finally calmed down he spoke. "Do you remember when I told you about Gherman's disappearance?" He murmured, his face still buried in Gascoigne's shoulder. "Yes, I remember you weren't to keen on tellin' the story either." He replied. 

Henryk let go and leaned back against the wall, wiping away a few stray tears with a gloved hand. "I came here to ask if anyone from the Healing Church had seen him. They were in the middle of service.... I was here in the back quietly waiting for it to end. That was the night... Laurence became a beast. The other hunters and I... We killed him." He explained quietly, and after a tired sigh he continued, "I've never set foot in here since that night. I had a nightmare about it when I fell asleep."

Gascoigne sat next to his friend and put his arm around him, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know.... I'd've never thought to come here if I had known..." His voice trailed off. "It's alright." Henryk replied.

Around midnight the snow stopped, the two hunters took advantage of the break in the weather to head for home. They couldn't help but smile at how beautiful everything looked. The moonlight glistened off the snow and ice giving it an otherworldly look. Before long they reached Gascoigne's house, Viola fixed them coffee and they sat and talked long until morning.


End file.
